Our allies in the Iraqi army

Gives you a real good idea of the state of play,

Caught off guard by recent Iraqi military operations, the United States is using spy satellites that ordinarily are trained on adversaries to monitor the movements of the American-backed Iraqi army, current and former U.S. officials say.

(Also in Iraq, the Mahdi is proceeding with its plans to create a new "elite" militia unit intended solely to attack US forces.)